Warriors At Heart
by Beyondfang
Summary: Five of the main trolls are turned into cats. I suck at summaries. Rated T for Karkat. Read to find out. Please no flames. A collab between me and my good internet friend (She basically writes Sol, KK, & Terezi's chapters) Also, this is on hold due to family issues for Liz and school for Beyond. ((I'll try to write everyone's POV(s)! Beyond))
1. Prologue

**A/N: So… This is my first Homestuck fanfiction, so sorry if they seem OOC… The main pairings are Nepeta x Mousewhisker & Sollux x Ivytail (I KNOW she's in ShadowClan. Just…. Wait.)**

**I really hope you guys like it! I swear I will finish this one! Also, I will only use Sollux and Nepeta's typing quirks. Except I will not double the i's. Mkay? Mkay.**

**One last thing! I haven't gotten that far is HS, but I have done some major Wiki reading. I will do my best with descriptions and getting the information accurate. **

**…I lied when I said one last thing. This takes place shortly after KK's computer explodes. Like, right after that. So Tav is still injured and Sollux never dies ****_or _****goes blind. AA's still a ghost. And after the computer blowing up, the story is completely mine. Not many actions will be the same. Also, keep in mind, I have switched up the timelines a little.**

**Homestuck goes to Andrew Hussie and Warriors goes to the Erin Hunters.**

** PROLOGUE**

POV: Karkat

Karkat snapped his eyes open and sat bolt upright. "What the hell?!" He yelled, getting to his feet and studying the hole in his hive where his computer one sat.

"Sollux, I swear… I will kill you!" The Cancer murmured, rubbing his head. The headache was coming, he just knew it. He walked to the edge of the large hole that had been blasted in his home and groaned. A large chunk of his hive was gone.

_He did tell me not to activate the virus… Eh. Still his fault. _Karkat paced around his room for a few minutes and glanced outside. His jaw dropped when he saw what was laying outside his hive.

"What the-" His speech was abruptly cut off by a large blast coming from the object. He felt himself falling, and then black fell over him like a heavy blanket.

POV: Sollux

"Oh, 2hit… what the hell and I going to do? KK could be dead, for all I know!" Sollux mentally hit himself and abruptly stood up. He glanced around his room, wondering if he could do anything to help Karkat. He wasn't in the stupid game yet, so he couldn't help him that way…

What could he do? He was just a shitty programmer. It was his fault that KK was in danger, anyway! _God dammit…! _Sollux let out a small sound somewhere between a groan and a cry. He glanced out his window and gasped.

_Is that an… Earth cat? _He remembered reading about a strange species living on another planet called cats. Alternia didn't have them, so what was it doing here? Sollux was just about to go outside and investigate when an overwhelming sound came from the paw-beast that Nepeta was obsessed with and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

POV: Tavros

Tavros wheeled up the small ramp in his respiteblock. He hated being crippled. He hated Vriska. He honestly agreed with Karkat's nickname for her, Vris-bitch. She truly was horrible. The young troll heaved himself out of the wheel-device and into the slime pod.

Well, shit. Now he would have to change. AND, just to add to that, his wheel-device just rolled down the ramp. That meant an hour of squirming around and trying to get to it, and another hour of getting into his clothes.

Tavros crawled out of the pod and began dragging himself down the ramp when he saw a strange, four-legged creature near his wheel-device. He tilted his head and dragged himself a bit closer to it. It let out a cute sound and padded towards him.

He smiled. The paw-beast then let out an enormous sound for something of its size. Tavros reached up to cover his ears, but before he knew it, the world was going black and he was unconscious.

POV: Nepeta

Nepeta sauntered around her cave-hive, talking to herself about mainly nothing. She took off her hat and gazed around at her home. Her lusus was asleep, as usual, making deep rumbling sounds as it inhaled and exhaled.

She gave it a small scratch behind the ears and continued pacing. She suddenly heard a loud mew coming from near her lusus.

She spun around to find and adorable, blue-gray kitty. Nepeta gasped and kneeled down, offering her hand for the cat to sniff. She had never met a legitimate _Earth-cat_! She was so excited.

The Leo smiled as the kitty sniffed her. Her smile quickly faded when the feline bared its teeth and let out a deafening roar. Nepeta promptly fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

POV: Terezi

Terezi gave the air a nervous sniff. She had been attempting to troll Karkat for the past… What had it been, thirty minutes? And he still hadn't answered! The Libra turned to one of her dragons. "Give me an answer! Where is Karkat?! IF you have hurt him in any way, I will rip all of your stuffing out!"

Terezi hissed when the stuffed animal didn't give her an answer. She gave its ruby-red scales one last lick and tied it to a rope. She quickly threw the animal out of the window and turned her back to it.

She was exceptionally surprised when something hissed back. She swiveled around and tasted the air again. This was… not here before, and it definitely wasn't a troll. It had red-brown fur, though.

Wait. Fur? Terezi leaped forward and tried to grab the fur-beast. She gasped in shock when it lashed out and left several deep, cyan wounds in her face. It let out a loud yowl and Terezi lost consciousness.

POV: Firestar

Firestar jolted awake. "Oh, StarClan… Why do we need another prophecy?!" He hissed, leaping up from his nest of bracken and moss. He raced to the medicine den and skidded to a halt outside of the entrance. "Jayfeather!" He called, hoping his blind grandson was still awake.

To his relief, Jayfeather came stumbling out of his den. "What is it, Firestar?" He hissed, digging his claws into the dusty ground.

"I've received a prophecy. I-It was, 'When the journey is over, the troubles are still to come. The blazing demon will appear where the trees surround the stone. The Cancer shall rise, and the Lion shall fall." Firestar shuddered. "I think StarClan meant the Great journey, but the rest…"

Jayfeather gaped. "Well… StarClan wanted a prophecy, I guess…"


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: From now on, I'll try to keep it to one POV for each chapter, like the Erins do. If it's really important, it'll be two or three. Also, I'm impressed. Ten reads in the first hour! *，有人從中國！*(And someone from China!) Also, the prophecy has been changed. The line: _The Cancer shall rise, and the Lion shall fall_,'have been added. **

**CHAPTER ONE POV: KARKAT **

Karkat jolted awake for the second time that day. He let out a loud moan. His ears were ringing and everything was aching. He attempted to pull himself to his feet, bit he ended up falling flat on hood face. Dammit... The Cancer attempted to get up again, but was greeted by getting a mouthful of grass. Wait. Grass?

Karkat rolled over onto his back and studied his surroundings. He was in a forest. And he wasn't on Alternia. Fucking hell... He then looked down to himself.

His now deep orange eyes widened in fear, shock, and excitement. Karkat had paws. And fur. And a tail. A fucking tail. Wow. His fur was an odd shade of gray-red, and he had white paws and a pure black tail tip.

He had an idea of what he had been turned into. It resembled Nepeta's lusus, except with only one head. Karkat and his friends often heard her talking about this species with such admiration... Wow.

Karkat hissed when realization hit him like a bomb. He was a cat, and he didn't even know what fucking planet he was on. And he had no way of contacting his friends. And his horns- his fucking horns- were replaced with soft, velvety eats. And he barely knew what species he was!

The troll-turned-cat jumped at least a meter in the air when several cats burst through the brush. There were four of them, and they looked angry. One was a pretty tortoiseshell cat, and besides her was a livid looking dark brown tabby tom with grass-green eyes. Behind them was a long-haired tom with bright blue eyes and a white she-cat with ginger patches. Karkat shuddered when he saw her scar. Half of her face had been torn off...

_Fuck. Wild cats. That look very good at fighting..._ Karkat backed away, long fur bristling. "And what do you think you're doing?!" The dark brown tom hissed, lashing his tail. The tortoiseshell looked less eager to fight, and rested her tail on the hostile cat's shoulder. She muttered something in his ear that Karkat didn't catch.

"Uh... I know what or where the fuck I am... Is that a decent answer?" But instead, the cats looked confused.

"What's a fuck?" The white one asked. Karkat sighed, shaking his head.

"Um... It's a swear word from where I come from." He said-no, meowed. The group nodded. "You still haven't answered us. What are you doing?!"

"Uh... I dunno." Karkat shrugged. "Well. You're coming with us. You'll have to see Firestar." The tortoiseshell one mewed, her voice soft and calm. The Cancer shrugged. "Lead on, oh so wonderful paw-beasts!" He hissed, lowering his head.

The scarred one shook her head and took a position behind the young used-to-be-troll. The rest of them position themselves around Karkat and began leading him to their 'camp'.

**POV: Firestar **

Firestar paced around camp, wondering what the prophecy meant. And who was the 'Blazing Demon?' He didn't want to know who the Lion was, but he had a growing suspicion it was Lionblaze... Mousedung!

The ThunderClan leader was jolted out of his thoughts by the deep voice of Dustpelt. "Firestar, we have a _visitor_..." The dark tabby tom spat out the last word like it was poison. Behind him was a gray-red tom with white paws and a short, black tail. His orange eyes burned holes into Firestar's skull.

The ginger tabby shuddered. He hoped he wouldn't have to let this cat into the Clan because of the prophecy, but, knowing his luck, this loner was probably a major part of it... Firestar sighed. "Bring him to the Highhledge. I will talk to him there."

The six cats padded across camp, and the ThunderClan leader noticed Dovekit in particular starting at the odd loner in awe, confusion, and excitement. When the patrol, Firestar, and the loner reached the Highhledge, Firestar told the four cats that had brought the gray cat into cap to get some fresh-kill. They happily obliged, chatting along like starlings as they walked to the fresh-kill pile.

Firestar turned to the loner. "What's your name?" He forced his voice to stay level, though he was extremely anxious about the prophecy and any roll this strange cat might have in it. "Karkat Vantas. Six sweeps old. Zodiac sign is Cancer. ( )"

Firestar stiffened. _Did he just say Cancer...? The Cancer shall rise... Foxdung... He's part of the prophecy, then..._

**POV: Karkat **

Karkat tilted his head at Firestar's strange reaction to his Zodiac sign. Damn, these cats were weird... A sudden, startling thought came to Karkat's mind. What if he had taken his friends with him into the odd universe filled with cats?! He knew Nepeta would like it, but he wasn't so sure about Sollux...

Both Firestar and Karkat jumped at the sound of a sudden caterwauling coming from the center of camp. "FIRESTAR! A-a strange cat... Two tails... He- Lightning...!" Karkat froze. Shit.

Sollux was here.

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter ;-; Writers block is a bitch... Also, I'm on my tablet...**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! It's Beyond, with yet another chapter! From now on, I'll try to do a daily update. If I don't, I will upload the chapter the next day. And sorry for the lack of updates… ;-; Also, I decided just to replace most s's with 'th's instead of twos... K? K.**

**And today's POV is;**

**POV: Sollux**

Sollux had recently recovered from the shock of waking up in the woods as a fluffy, two-tailed paw-beast. And that species apparently had no horns. Well then. The Gemini growled and turned around to see three _very _angry looking cats.

But there was one that caught Sollux's eye. She was an extremely beautiful she-cat with leaf-green eyes and a black, white, and tortoiseshell pelt. The troll-turned-cat's jaw nearly dropped at the site of her.

He was surprised to see all three cats staring at him with an expression that said both, 'What are you?' and, 'Get the hell off of my turf'.

_Don't all Earth-catth have two tails? _Sollux wondered, waving both long appendages close to the ground. But, as he looked closer at the felines, he realized they were seeing a double-tailed cat for the first time. He then realized that his eyes must be the same as they were back on Alternia.

It was a dark ginger she-cat that jolted Sollux out of his thoughts. "Now _what _would a strange cat like you be doing in ShadowClan territory?!" She growled, digging her claws into the bare earth.

"Uhh… Now how the hell would I know that?!" Sollux curled his lip; This she-cat wasn't going to be a good friend. If she didn't kill him first, they would likely be enemies.

"Wait… You mean you don't know how you got here?" A tabby she-cat with odd fur that stuck out at all angles mewed.

"Duh. Now, do yourthelveth a favor and tell me how the hell to get out of here." Sollux lisped, flattening his ears to his head.

"Chase him out?" The tortoise-shell and black she-cat mewed, smirking.

_Shit. _Sollux hissed and whirled around. He followed the sound of a running river and he skidded to a halt on the pebbly shore. _Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit!_

The three pursuing cats burst from the bushes, hissing and spitting. Sollux launched himself into the river, shock filling his body as the cold water seeped through his long, gray fur. He thrust his paws down, but to his dismay, his new form was too small to reach the bottom of the stream.

He paddled across the river, keeping his head above the water. When he reached the other side, he shook himself of, shivering. He padded into the underbrush, teeth chattering. His paws were numb, the fall leaves crackling underneath him. He eventually neared a quarry, a tunnel of thorns leading into a fairly sheltered place.

Sollux padded through the tunnel, red and blue lightning flickering around his eyes. He hissed when yet _another_ feline paw-beast yowled, "Intruder!" He had just emerged in a clearing filled with cats. A ginger tom with bright green eyes bounded down from a rock-pile, abandoning the cat who he had been conversing with.

The ginger cat, who appeared to be the cats' leader, bounded towards Sollux, tail lashing.

"Who and _what_are you!?" The ginger hissed, the fur on the back of his neck rising.

"...My name'th Thollux Captor, and I'd thay that I was... mutated, or thomething like that..." Sollux lisped, tails flicking uncomfortably.

Most of the cats were staring in awe at the light flicking from his eyes and his two tails. A few were ushering smaller paw-beasts into a cave-like-thing. But when they had them in, they rushed to stare at Sollux. _Talk about uncomfortable…_ Sollux shuffled his paws.

"So… what're you doing in our camp?" A pale gray tom with black stripes mewed. A different gray tom with a white underbelly pushed his way through the crowd and nipped the younger one on the back of the neck. "Bumblepaw, be polite!" He hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"I was just curious!" 'Bumblepaw' hissed, looking down to his paws. Sollux shook his head. "It'2 okay. He 2hould know. Even if I don't know…" He muttered the last part under his breath.

"Tho, I wath being chathed by a few barbarianth. They rushed me out of nowhere and chathed me to the river. I thwam acroth and found my way here. I'm thtill pretty lotht," Sollux admitted, taking a few deep breaths. "But I think I lotht them."

Sollux gazed around. He was pretty much surrounded. He couldn't even try to escape. Then he noticed the red-gray cat staring at him, eyes wide with shock. The red cat mouthed, 'Sollux?' Sollux tilted his head. 'Who're you?' he mouthed back.

'It's Karkat! Y'know, beep, beep, meow!' Sollux's jaw dropped. Well. Shit. If KK was here… Maybe there were more.

"Uh… Cat-thingth? I _really_ have to leave… And take my friend with me." He gestured to Karkat.

The ginger cat shook his head. "I think you might have to stay here for a while." He mewed. "Might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Firestar. That's Brambleclaw," Firestar nodded to a large tabby tom, "And Jayfeather. They're the medicine cat and deputy." Sollux studied the two cats. He noticed Jayfeather was blind and shuddered. He hoped the gray tom didn't lick things in order to tell what color they were…

He sighed in relief when Jayfeather turned to one of his friends and murmured something, and Sollux overheard the cat describing him, his double tails and odd eyes.

_Well… Okay…? I gueth we'll have to stay here. _Sollux sat down, waiting for the crowd to disperse. Then the thought of the tortoise-shell and black she-cat flew into his mind. She… Reminded him of Aradia, for some reason… He couldn't place his finger-no, paw, on why, though.

The Gemini was jolted out of his thoughts by a small prickling sensation in one of his tails. He turned to see a tiny, dove-gray cat with stunning blue eyes. Sollux flicked both tails and the small cat was gently tossed off. She looked up at him, blue eyes wide. Sollux tilted his head. What was this small creature going at?

The tom bent his head and gave the tiny cat a small sniff. She squealed and began bouncing around. When she had completed her circle of happy bouncing, she returned to Sollux and gave him a happy mew. "My name's Dovekit! What's yours?"

"I'm Thollux." Said Gemini was confused. Why was this kitten so excited about an intruder in her camp?

"You have a weird name!" She giggled. "But I guess if you're not from the Clan… Oh! I have to go! Bye bye, Thollux!" Karkat sniggered at her pronunciation of Sollux's name, but the death glare he sent the Cancer shut him up.

Sollux might just have to get used to this…


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Heyo! I'm starting this chapter as Chapter 2's being uploaded. :D I'll try to get this one up today, too. (Today as in March 8th) If I don't… I'm not dead. I'm going to commit myself to writing this and only this fanfiction, kay? So if this thing goes inactive, it's only 'cause I'm either dead or grounded.**

**Also, if you have any suggestions for the story, send them via PM! I'll be accepting ideas until April 9th!**

**And here's a link to a picture of what the guys (& girls) look like;** art/33-the-fiive-wHO-WERE-turn3d-438905273 **Yes, my BFF online made this picture. No, I did not steal it. I HAVE PERMISSION TO USE IT.**

**I have a surprise. I might add the dancestors or whatever the hell they're called. *Fangirls over Tuna* SO ADORABLE. I made this chapter the longest by about one-hundred words! Yippee!**

**POV: Tavros (I'm really not a huge fan of this guy, honestly…But, for the Tav fangirls!)**

Tavros yawned and stretched his arms. He must have fallen asleep somehow. He blinked open his eyes and gasped in shock. He was lying on his side near a river. How he missed the sound of running water, he had no idea.

The Taurus gazed around, wondering what was going on. When he tried to drag himself along the ground to explore, he realized his fingers weren't working. He looked down at his hands, just to realize they weren't hands at all.

They were fuzzy, soft, paws. Tavros gaped when he saw. He didn't want to be a cat! He'd spent so much time with Nepeta that he knew exactly what he was. But as to where he was… He had no idea.

Tavros flexed his claws and dragged himself along the shore. He realized that he was near a small island. _Uh… Wow… This is… cool… _He thought and bent down to sniff the water. He jumped back in surprise as a small fish leaped out at him, flicking cold droplets of water onto Tavros' nose.

He tilted his head when a few cats padded out of the brush on the island. They froze when they saw him. It was a smoky black tom who advanced first. "What're you doing here?!" He hissed.

A tortoise-shell cat with blue eyes padded forward to join her companion. Next, a pale gray she-cat followed the tortoise-shell.

"Uh… I… Uh… I don't know what I'm doing here… Uh… I just… Kinda… Woke up here…" Tavros stammered in his usual nervous way, the long fur on the back of his neck raising. He couldn't back up, so he just lowered his head.

"…Can you walk?" The pale gray she-cat mewed in a gentler tone. Tavros shook his head, flattening his ears to his skull.

"Oh." The black tom lowered the fur on the back of his neck. "Um… Should we get Leopardstar? Or maybe Mistyfoot?" The tortoise-shell nodded.

"I'll get Leopardstar. Blackclaw, Dawnflower, stay here." Blackclaw nodded. "Mosspelt… Uh… Maybe I should go? I'm faster." Dawnflower mewed.

Mosspelt sighed. "Go ahead." Dawnflower nodded and raced back into the bushes. Tavros gazed around nervously, heart pounding.

"Uhhh… Are… Are you going to hurt me…?" Tavros mewed, digging his newly found claws into the sand.

Mosspelt shook her head. "No Clan cat is low enough to attack a cat that can't walk." Smokeclaw mewed his agreement.

Dawnflower padded back to where the other three cats were, a golden and spotted she-cat following her.

"Well. Is this the one who can't walk, or did he drag himself away?" The golden she-cat, who was probably Leopardstar, mewed. Smokeclaw nodded. "This is him."

Leopardstar crossed the river, and only then Tavros realized they had the entire conversation from across the water.

"So… who are you? Did you come from the Horseplace?" Leopardstar mewed, her tone soft as she bent down to sniff the Taurus.

"Uhh… I'm Tavros… I.. Uh… I just… Kinda, woke up near here…" Tavros murmured, his voice shaky.

"Well, Tavros, are you planning on going anywhere?" Tavros shook his head to the golden she-cat's question. She nodded slowly.

"You could stay with RiverClan for a while…" The Taurus realized she was instantly regretting her words. "Uhhh… That's okay, I don't have to… Uh… I just… Uh… Don't really know where I am…"

"Really, you can stay with us. You're defenseless! What would happen if you strayed into ShadowClan territory? They'd kill you, no questions asked!" Leopardstar hissed, her calm façade broken and her tail lashing. Tavros flinched at her sudden outburst.

She took a few deep breaths, and the fur on the back of her neck began to flatten. "Here, let me take you to a shallow place in the river where you can cross." Leopardstar grasped Tavros' scruff in her teeth and began helping him along the sandy shore.

After about a minute, she let go of him and gestured to a shallow point in the running water. "Let's see how well you can cross on your own." The golden she-cat mewed, her tone soft. Tavros let out a shaky breath and set his forepaws into the cold water. He dragged himself, step by step, until he reached the shore. He pulled himself onto the small island and shook out his fur.

Leopardstar nodded in approval and ran across to join the crippled tom. "Do you think you're fit enough to learn how to fish? It only requires the forepaws." She mewed, tilting her head. Tavros thought for a moment, and then reluctantly nodded.

"Good. Follow me, I'll take you to camp. If you're going to stay with us, you might as well be useful." Tavros shuddered as he acknowledged her words. They reminded him to much of Vriska's.

He followed Leopardstar through the bush. He was certain that was who she was now. Tavros glanced around when they emerged into a clearing. There were many cats bustling around in it, and quite a few of them paused to look at the Taurus.

"Leopardstar, did he follow you here?" A gray she-cat with blue eyes hissed, glaring at Tavros. Leopardstar shook her head and bounded to a tree. (A/N: I'm not sure what kind of meeting place RiverClan has. I've never read Mistystar's Omen, either. Cut me some slack.) The RiverClan leader clawed her way up and sat on a thick branch.

"All cats old enough to swim, gather beneath the Highbranch for a Clan meeting!" She glanced at Tavros, and gestured to him with her tail, which told him he was included in the 'Clan meeting'. He dragged himself to a spot beneath the branch and lowered his head.

The Taurus was very uncomfortable with all the strong, sleek-pelted cats staring at him. Once they had all gathered, Leopardstar began; "The sunhigh patrol of Blackclaw, Mosspelt, and Dawnflower found this loner stranded by the river. He is incapable of walking, so Dawnflower got me. He _is_, however, capable of fishing. He agreed to stay with us, at least for a while, to get a taste of what Clan life is."

Many of the cats gaped at their leader's statement, and the others looked sympathetic for the crippled Taurus. Tavros lowered his head at the intense gazes directed at him coming from all directions.

"Uh… I'm Tavros…" He mewed, his voice shaky once again.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Oh. My. GOG. I am so sorry! Liz has had some family issues and I've been _so _busy with school n' stuff!**

**Away from that subject, do you think I should add the Beta Kids and/or the Alpha Trolls/Kids? (I desperately want Dirk and Dave in this fanfiction, but… No Stridercest. God, not that…) Drop a review on what you think!**

**Also, sorry if Nightcloud's OOC. She needs to be for this story to work, 'cause she must act like a mother-figure to Nep. But trust me; she still has her short temper.**

**By the way, Dewspots is canon. Look in the Allegiances for Sunset.**

**So… This chapter kinda sucks X33 And Liz can't write Nep's chapter this time, so….**

**POV: Nepeta**

Nepeta let out a low groan and flickered open her eyes. She almost immediately regretted doing so. The small Leo was in the middle of a large moorland, and about twenty yards west was a large, shimmering lake. Nepeta whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut again.

Soon after, the small female decided against just sitting there and opened her eyes again. She attempted to stand up, but that just resulted in her falling on her face. Nepeta sighed and tried again, with the same results, but this time she landed on her paws.

Wait.

_PAWS?! _Nepeta squealed and began hopping around. She was a kitty! This was wonderful! A few heartbeats later, the troll-turned-cat calmed down and studied herself. She had blue-gray fur pretty much everywhere, and she guessed she had green eyes. She looked down and grinned at the site of her tail, a long, gray-blue limb with a white tip.

The Leo smiled and headed towards the lake. It just seemed like the smartest idea, due to the fact that she was extremely thirsty for some odd reason…

**~At~The~Lake~**

Nepeta lowered herself so she was in a stalking position and pulled herself forward, gliding silently across the pebbles of the lake shore. Just a meter in front of the small she-cat sat an unsuspecting rabbit, nibbling on a seed of some sorts.

Just as Nepeta was about to pounce, a rather small, dark gray tom with bright blue eyes leaped out of the long grass, hissing.

"Who are you?! You better not have been hunting on WindClan territory!" He hissed. The rabbit sprinted off at the sound of the tom's voice. A similar-looking black she-cat with amber eyes stepped forward and put her tail on the tom's shoulder, apparently trying to calm him.

"Crowfeather, calm down… She's less than a tail-length away from the lake… It's okay…" She soothed, pressing herself against the bristling male.

Nepeta squeaked and flattened herself against the ground, newly-found ears flattened against her skull. "D-Don't hurt me, please, Mister Gray Kitty! I didn't realize I was in- what was it? Oh! WindClan's territory…" She mewed, trying to press her belly against the ground even harder.

The tom hissed once again and whipped around. "Nightcloud, I'm getting the rest of the patrol. Keep an eye on this annoying thing, okay?" He hissed to the darker she-cat. She nodded and padded up to Nepeta.

"What's your name, little one?" Nepeta let out a startled squeak at the comforting tone of the she-cat's voice. "N-Nepeta…. Who're you..?" She mewed, shivering and letting her fur lay flat.

"I'm Nightcloud. That was Crowfeather, he can be a bit grumpy sometimes… But he's okay! In fact, he's the father of my son, Breezepelt." Nepeta's jaw dropped. "Son..? But you look so young!"

"Y-no, I'm actually pretty old. Let's see… Um… My StarClan, I've lost track of the moons!" Nightcloud hissed, and Nepeta caught a bit of anger seeping through her words. Maybe this cat _wasn't_ so likable…

Crowfeather came bursting through the grass, two other cats following him. One was a light brown tabby tom while the other was a spotted gray tabby she-cat.

"Is this the cat you were talking about? She looks barely the size of an apprentice!" The gray one mewed. Crowfeather hissed and nodded. "I told you she was small!" He growled and pulled Nepeta up roughly by the scruff. She let out a small mew of pain.

"Toughen up, kit!" He hissed and let her go.

Nepeta squeaked and stared up at the four cats in front of her. "I-I'm Nepeta… I know who Nightcloud and C-Crowfeather are, but who-who're the rest of you?" She mewed, tail tip quivering.

"I'm Dewspots, and this is Owlwhisker." The gray she-cat mewed, nodding to the brown tabby tom besides her. Nepeta nodded and turned to Nightcloud, who, at the moment, was the most trusted of the four. "So… where am I? Are you going to let me go?"

"Not until you see Onestar." Crowfeather growled. Nepeta jumped. "Who's that?" All four cats exchanged looks. "You'll see when we get there." Owlwhisker mewed and nudged Nepeta to get up. "C'mon, it's almost Sundown. We were the sunhigh patrol, guys. We have to go." Dewspots mewed, glancing at the small Leo. "That means you too, squirt."

Nepeta stood and began following the cats, curious as to where they were going.

**~Time Skip…Again~**

The small she-cat stood on the crest of a hill that led into a shallow dip in the earth, where several cats were alert and moving about their day. She only moved at a prod in the flank from Owlwhisker, telling her to get a move on. She ran after the other three cats and skidded to a halt at the foot of the hill.

A shiver ran through Nepeta's body as all the other cats' gazes landed on her, including a brown tabby tom who looked _very_ important, as all the cats moved to make a path for him to get to the small Leo. "Who is this?" He mewed, looking at the four who had brought Nepeta in.

"This is Nepeta, Onestar. We found her near the lake, but still more than a tail-length away." Crowfeather sneered at Nepeta. He obviously _really_ didn't like her.

"Well. Hello, Nepeta. I'm sure you've heard, unless you're deaf, I'm Onestar." The tom mewed, taking a seat not too far away from the little Leo.

Nepeta's eye twitched. "M-my sister's deaf! Don't make fun of it!" She mewed, jumping to Meulin's defense. Onestar tilted his head.

"I wasn't really making fun of being deaf… I actually knew of a deaf cat, once. He didn't last long, though. Carried off by a bird." He murmured the last sentence under his breath, probably wondering in Nepeta's sister was dead or not.

"Well, in case you're wondering, Meulin's _not _dead! She's actually alive and well! With a matesprit* and everything!"

"Calm down, I didn't mean that! I'm sure she- what's a matesprit?" Onestar mewed. Nepeta sighed. "I am _not_ explaining the quadrants!"

**A/N:**

***I ship Meulin X Kurloz SO HARD.**

**So. What a way to end a chapter X33 Again, sorry about the long wait!**


End file.
